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In poll-bound Bihar, politicians of all parties are invoking ‘Mountain Man’ Dashrath Manjhi, a native of village Gehlaur who passed away in 2007, to woo voters, especially from Mahadalit community to which Dashrath belonged.
| TNN | Updated: Oct 9, 2015, 03:01 IST

[Image: Politicians of all parties are invoking &lsquo;Mountain Man&rsquo; Dashrath Manjhi, a native of village Gehlaur, to woo voters for the upcoming Bihar polls.]

Politicians of all parties are invoking ‘Mountain Man’ Dashrath Manjhi, a native of village Gehlau... Read More

GEHLAUR (Gaya): In poll-bound Bihar, politicians of all parties are invoking ‘Mountain Man’ Dashrath Manjhi, a native of village Gehlaur who passed away in 2007, to woo voters, especially from Mahadalit community to which Dashrath belonged.
The ‘Mountain Man’, who is said to have alone carved out a path through Gehlaur hills with his hammer and chisel, has become a cult figure among the Mahadalits in Bihar. Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Union home minister Rajnath Singh lauded the determination of Manjhi at the rallies they held at Wazirganj and Atri assembly segments, respectively, in recent days. Gehlaur is part of Atri assembly constituency, which will go to polls on October 16.

READ ALSO:
Politicians milk 'Mountain Man' to woo voters

Manjhi's son Bhagirath was invited at Sonia Gandhi's rally in Wazirganj. The candidates of RJD, LJP, Jan Adhikar Party and several others have requested him to campaign for them. Wazirganj and Atri assembly seats in Gaya district have a sizeable number of Mahadalits, who are overwhelmed with the attention Manjhi has drawn to their plight.

“People of this place are so determined that one of them even moved a mountain,” Sonia said at her rally at Wazirganj. Jan Adhikar Party chief Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav inaugurated a statue of Dashrath Manjhi recently and requested his family members to vote for his candidate Krishna Nandan Yadav. RJD chief Lalu Prasad is scheduled to address a rally at Atri for RJD candidate Kunti Devi shortly. Dashrath’s family members said people are trying to cajole Bhagirath into sharing stage with Lalu.

Laungi Devi (55), daughter of Dashrath, said politicians have irritated them much this election. “From dawn to dusk, politicians keep coming in big vehicles to seek votes. They promise everything but give us nothing,” she said. Manjhi’s great grandchildren, who swarm the house, are however happy. The children, numbering about 20, are enjoying leaders’ visit. Bhagirath said, “They love him (Dashrath) during elections, but the love does not last after elections.”

A lot has changed in Dashrath Manjhi's village, now named Dashrath Nagar, since 2007 when he died fighting cancer at AIIMS. But villagers say they are yet to get Indira Awas units, irrigation facilities and jobs. A three-km blacktop road has been constructed in Dashrath Manjhi name and a big statue of the Mountain Man is being built at the same place where he cut the mountain.

“Statue will not feed our children or treat us when we fall ill,” Bhagirath said.

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GURUGRAM: A new gang of carjackers is on the prowl on the Dwarka Expressway that strikes in isolated stretches not covered by CCTV cameras.

The gang usually targets cars with just the driver and no other occupant, mostly those returning home late from work. The modus of operandi of the gang is simple — they ram into the car from behind with theirs, and the moment the driver steps out to check the damage, three persons grab him from behind.

One usually snatches the car keys and any valuables the driver has, then the men push him aside and drive away with both vehicles. Two SUVs have been snatched in this manner along the expressway in the last week alone.

Police believe that those involved in these robberies are different from other gangs which snatch vehicles at gunpoint. “Our teams are working to track the accused,” said ACP (crime) Shamsher Singh. He urged commuters to be wary of such incidents while driving after dark.
On Tuesday, a Toyota Fortuner was snatched from a businessman by three unidentified armed men in Sikanderpur Bada village. He was on his way home to Dhanwapur when a car hit his SUV from behind around 12.30am. When he exited the SUV, the men snatched the key and fled. Similarly, on January 6, three men allegedly snatched a car from its owner at gunpoint with the same modus operandi at Pataudi Chowk around 10.15pm.
New sector residents blamed lack of police presence in the area for the crimes. Sudesh Sharma, a resident of Sector 82, said a large number of people have moved into houses in new sectorsalong the expressway, but police presence or patrolling is very limited.
“Most of the roads have no streetlights, and it is not safe to step out of the house after dark,” Sharma said.